The Grass is Always Greener...

"We whine when we don't have a boyfriend, we whine when we do." - Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes.

They say that the grass is always greener on the other side. And ya know what, it actually is. But is that always a good thing?

I've realized that we're never actually satisfied with what we have and are always looking for ways to better our situations. Jealousy, boredom, stress, and a low sense of satisfaction all lead to the times we say, "I wish."

Situation #1: When I was in school I couldn't wait to get out into the working world. And although I love the working world, I'm actually thinking about going back to school at some point for something more. I'll have to weigh my infamous pros and cons list of course.

Situation #2: When I was in Spain I longed for my family and friends and American culture. As much as I enjoyed myself, I couldn't help but feel homesick for the familiar. And now that I'm back to that regular routine, I kind of really miss Spain.

Two songs come to mind:

The first is from one of my favorite movies, Moulin Rouge. Satine (Nicole Kidman) sings "One Day I'll Fly Away." This is a perfect song for those who long to be in another situation. Of course, she was longing for a better situation and the things I'm speaking of are really on a smaller scale (like, I wish I had bought those shoes because they would've gone great with my outfit).

The second is a better example of what I'm talking about. "Part of Your World." Yes, I speak of The Little Mermaid. It's such a great movie. Ariel wants to be out of the ocean, walking around on land, sans mermaid fins. She gets her wish by trading her voice and gets to walk around. Of course she meets the dreamy Eric and has a fairy tale ending (regaining her voice AND legs, marrying the man of her dreams, and still is able to see her family in the ocean).

But, you see, there was a tradeoff for her initial wish: her voice to the evil sea queen, Ursula. It's almost like she needed to trade in her soul for that proverbial green grass.

I don't like to make wishes mainly because, in my experience, wishes have come true in the most terrible of ways. So I don't believe in wishes. But I guess what I should think about is when I long for what's on the other side of the fence. What will I be giving up? How might I already be fulfilling my so-called destiny? I wonder about these things all the time. But I know that everything happens for a reason so instead of conquering the green grass on the other side of the fence, I think I'll tackle what's already up at bat. And maybe someday, I'll have Ariel's perfect ending.